Serious writers like to think "no," but of course they would—if the money was right. Writes Tod Goldberg in the LA Times, he got a call wondering if "I might be interested in writing original novels based on Burn Notice, the popular show on USA about a blacklisted spy named Michael Westen, who uses his training to help people out of bad situations (with the mob, drug dealers, pimps, etc.)." After much hang-wringing, he said yes—and ended up becoming emotionally attached to the characters in the show he was now writing about:

"I challenge anyone to spend 64 straight days and nights with anyone or anything without developing a Patty Hearstian level of attachment... At a book signing recently, a man walked up to me, after waiting in line for 10 minutes, to tell me how much he hated the show, how it made him twitch, and how he wouldn't be reading my book, either. It was a level of antipathy I wasn't previously familiar with — loathing that gets you out of bed on a Saturday to tell someone that you hate them. I didn't mind that he wasn't going to buy my book, but his slight against the show felt far more personal. Now, I find myself feeling defensive if it receives a bad television review somewhere and am growing concerned that my obsessive self-Googling might turn a dark corner into obsessive "Burn Notice" Googling too, which is not a train I want to ride."